Welcome to the Week 14 Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Targets article. This week’s crop of players contains a few surprises this far into the season, including two Brooklyn Nets guards.

The heat is on in most leagues, and this could be time that decides who goes to playoffs and who misses out. A good strategy on the waiver wire can help you close off a strong campaign or make a miraculous late season comeback.

The trade deadline is fast approaching, and we should fully expect to see some trades happen around that time. There tends to be a flurry of rumors in the weeks preceding the deadline, but only a few get finalized.

If you needed evidence of how much a trade can impact players in the NBA, just look at the results of the Ish Smith trade earlier this season. While Smith’s value definitely changed as he went from the Pelicans to the 76ers, a handful of other players from both teams had their outlooks adjusted as well.

There is one player who bends the 50 percent owned rule, but considering his value we let it slide. Other than that, all the players below should be owned in less than half of Fantasy Basketball leagues.

Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Targets

Donald Sloan, PG, Brooklyn Nets (27.6 Percent Owned)

Donald Sloan is a safe fantasy option due to the lack of depth at the Brooklyn Nets point guard position. His flagship attribute is his consistency. Though he doesn’t score in bundles, he also doesn’t put up bad shots. He also distributes the ball well, meaning solid assist numbers as long as he sees enough time on the court.

Over his last four games, Sloan averages eleven points, nine assists and over five rebounds. The defensive columns are basically non-existent for Sloan right now, but those are very solid numbers for a point guard

Joe Johnson, SG/SF, Brooklyn Nets (53.8 Percent)

Joe Johnson may have been heavily drafted based on his reputation, but may have left owners disappointed this season. This explains his surprising availability at this point in the season. However, Johnson has really turned it on in the month of January, and could be a very valuable waiver wire addition.

His most recent game was a dud, but the seven games before were very productive. In that span, he averaged over 15 points per game. Brooklyn guards seem to struggle with defense, as Johnson is barely even on the stat sheet for those categories. However, his three point shooting and scoring should make him an easy pickup in most leagues.

Robert Covington, SF/PF, Philadelphia 76ers (48.6 Percent)

The 76ers have upgraded from one of the worst teams in NBA history to just a generally bad team. With that transition, we are seeing an emergence of players playing at higher levels. Robert Covington seems to be a big beneficiary of the new-look 76ers. Considering he is able to contribute in a variety of ways, he should definitely be considered as a waiver wire target.

Over his last five games, Covington is averaging over 13 points per game while grabbing almost seven boards. He even chips in a few steals on good nights. With the ability to perform big over a few categories, and what looks like consistent minutes, Covington could be a great pickup for a team in need.

Trey Lyles, PF, Utah Jazz (11.4 Percent)

The Utah Jazz’s frontcourt has been a mess this season. Ordained starters Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert have spent the majority of the season injured. While both returned recently, but Favors time was short lived, as his back has held him out recently. Trey Lyles stepped in and has performed admirably during that time. He possesses the coveted traits of size combined with three-point shooting.

His last five games should be a good indicator of what to expect from Lyles with this level of involvement. During that time, he has dropped 14 points per game, many from behind the arc. He is bringing in five rebounds a game, which isn’t a lot, but shouldn’t hurt many teams.

Myles Turner, PF/C, Indiana Pacers (12.4 Percent)

Myles Turner played a lot over the last two games due to an injury to Ian Mahinmi. What is interesting is that he grabbed more minutes that Jordan Hill in both contests. It seems that Turner may have surpassed Hill in the Pacers rotation, and that could mean he holds some value even when Mahinmi is healthy. With that said, Mahinmi is no stranger to the injury report, so it could be thrifty shopping to grab Myles Turner on the waivers this week.

It’s a small sample size for Turner, as he only saw over 20 minutes in his last two games. However, he performed very well in both those games, averaging 20 points per game and snagging over five rebounds. He even averaged three blocks as well. As long as he is getting the time on the court, he is definitely worth deploying.